The Minister of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, today inaugurated the Interactive Multimedia Center located in the Turespaña office in Rome, which will be the nerve center of the promotional actions of the Xacobeo National Tourist Plan 2021-2022, a project for promote the Caminos de Santiago as a cultural and heritage product throughout the national territory with an investment that exceeds 121 million euros, which will be financed with Next Generation European funds.
For Maroto, "this new multimedia space opens a window to bring the Xacobea route to the center of Rome, the nerve center of tourism, and convey to potential visitors all the cultural, heritage, and experiences offered by the Caminos de Santiago" . For the head of Tourism, this multimedia center "is a key point in the external promotion of the Xacobeo national plan, a great country project that aims to unite territories and people around a unique tourism product, which offers unique experiences of the we want to make our visitors participate ”, he highlighted.
At the inauguration, the Minister, Alfonso Dastis, Spanish Ambassador to Italy and San Marino, María del Carmen de la Peña Corcuera, Spanish Ambassador to the Vatican, Miguel Sanz, Director General of Turespaña, Jorge Rubio, Minister of Tourism were accompanied in Rome and Maria Nava Castro Domínguez, General Director of Tourism of the Xunta de Galicia.
Interactive Multimedia Center
The new Multimedia Center, located in the iconic Piazza di Spagna (Spanish Steps), seeks to attract more travelers captivated by the ways of Santiago from Italy, the first country of origin of pilgrims. In 2019, the pilgrim reception office of the Cathedral of Santiago registered 28,749 pilgrims from Italy, 8.27% of the total. Through its programming, the tourist office in the Italian capital offers a space dedicated to the Caminos de Santiago, for which it has been equipped with avant-garde technological infrastructure. An extensive schedule of events will be developed around this multimedia center, coordinated by the Tourism Council of Turespaña in Rome.
For this center, Turespaña has worked on a specific content project Xacobeo 2021-22 that includes 8 infographic videos on the Roads of Santiago; interactive cartographic navigation on all stages of the northern, French and primitive roads; as well as an update of all tourist resources with multimedia information.
In addition, online actions have been scheduled in the Italian market, such as webinars on the Camino de Santiago; a virtual event to present Xacobeo 2021-22 to professionals and the media; in addition to familiarization trips, specific to the Roads, for agents and journalists; a specific Xacobeo communication plan and a specialized online marketing campaign. Likewise, Turespaña will set up a website, and will distribute written material and videos of its own production in several languages.
The Multimedia Center will remain as a permanent infrastructure of the Turespaña Office in Rome, although its use during the years 2021 and 2022 will be limited to the promotion of the Xacobeo. This Center, located in the heart of the Italian capital, will be devoted primarily to the dissemination of cultural and historical heritage of religious origin or use.
Promotion of the Camino de Santiago
The Camino de Santiago is part of the international promotion campaign for summer 2021, “You deserve Spain” that Turespaña launched in mid-May for the recovery of tourism. Initiatives such as the Multimedia Center of Rome, among others, contribute to the international promotion of the Camino de Santiago, the first European Cultural Itinerary, reinforced by the visibility that the celebration of the Jacobean year gives it, an event of cultural, historical and tourist importance exceptional for Spain.
